Iowa Cubs 3 @ Round Rock Express 2
The Cubs got their first win of the season behind a decent start from Drew Carpenter. Carpenter pitched 5 innings, allowed 3 hits and walked 2 while striking out 4. He gave up 2 runs, both of which were earned.
Yioannar Negren pitched 2.2 innings and gave up a couple hits, struckout 2 and walked 1 while allowing no runs. Blake Parker got the save as he worked 1.1 innings. He gave up a hit and struckout 2.
RF Ryan Sweeney was 2-5 with a strikeout and 3B Edwin Maysonet was 2-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Logan Watkins was 1-4 with a walk and Brett Jackson’s new swing was 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
The Cubs took 6 walks last night. The other two were by Darnell McDonald who was 0-3 with a couple walks.
Chattanooga Lookouts 6 @ Tennessee Smokies
Dallas Beeler threw 6 OK innings. He allowed 6 hits and 2 runs while walking a batter and striking out 3. He also hit 3 batters. Kevin Rhoderick gave up 4 runs in 1.1 innings of work. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks.
Frank Batista threw the final 1.2 innings and allowed a couple of hits while striking a batter out. Batista is another of the Cubs minor league pitchers who has decent control, but doesn’t strike out nearly enough batters.
The Smokies only had 6 hits so there’s not a lot to write about. CF Rubi Silva collected 2 of those hits in 4 plate appearances. One of the hits was a double. Arismendy Alcantara had a double in 4 plate appearances. Justin Bour walked and homered in 4 plate appearances.
Rafael Lopez and Johermyn Chavez had the other two hits.
Matt Szczur was 0-5 and Christian Villanueva was 0-4.
Clearwater Threshers 14 @ Daytona Cubs 9
Ben Wells did not strike a batter out in 4 innings of work. He walked 4, gave up a home run, allowed 7 hits and somehow only 4 runs scored. I mentioned awhile back that I was very surprised to see Wells at this level. I hope he makes it, but I expect he’ll be dropped to Class A at some point.
Austin Reed gave up 3 runs and recorded only an out. Ryan Searle was about the only decent pitcher for the Cubs last night. He threw 3.2 innings, allowed a hit, walked 1 and struckout 4.
Zeke DeVoss was 2-6 with a home run and 2 strikeouts. It was his 2nd home run of the season already. He was caught stealing the other time he reached base. It was his first of the year against 4 successful steals. I’m loving DeVoss’ 5 walk to 5 strikeout ratio. The power will eventually drop (slugging over .600) since he’s not that kind of hitter, but you’ve got to love what you’ve seen out of him since he signed.
John Andreoli was 3-6 with a double. Javier Baez continues to struggle. He was 0-5 with 3 strikeouts. He did take his 1st walk of the season, which is good. However, he has 1 walk and 11 strikeouts in 28 plate appearances. He’s also committed 4 errors in 6 games.
Dustin Geiger was 1-5 with a home run and a strikeout. He made 3 errors in Monday’s game and when I checked the score of this one early last night, he had already made another error. Stephen Bruno and Ben Carhart were each 2-5. Bruno struckout twice and Carhart doubled.
Taiwan Easterling was also 2-5 and he hit a home run, his first of the season.
Jorge Soler was 1-3 with a walk, strikeout, double and an ejection. There was apparently an incident when he slid into 2nd base during the 7th inning. The benches cleared, but nothing came of it. Then Soler went and grabbed a fucking bat and charged the Threshers dugout. Fucking bat in hand!
Chicago Cubs prospect Jorge Soler was ejected from his Class A team’s game Wednesday night after approaching the opposing team’s dugout wielding a bat following an earlier confrontation on the field.
According to the Daytona Beach News Journal, Soler — the 21-year-old Cuban whom the Cubs signed to a nine-year, $30 million deal last year — slid into second base during the seventh inning of the Florida State League game and had words with an opposing player for the Clearwater Threshers in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Players from both the Threshers and Soler’s Daytona Cubs came out to separate the two, and the sides returned to their dugouts. But according to the News Journal, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Soler sprinted back out — with bat in hand — toward the Threshers’ side.
Soler was caught by Cubs teammates before he made it to the opposing dugout and never swung the bat, according to the News Journal.
There are some quotes from the manager at the link. I’m going to assume charing the opposing dugout with bat in hand is not in The Cubs Way manual. As such, I think it’s safe to say that Soler is going to have a sit down with some important people. I would also think there would be a suspension coming his way from Minor League Baseball. None of us saw the incident, but I can easily imagine this would be a very stiff penalty for Soler. If it’s not as bad as sounds, it probably won’t be. Baseball tends to look down on players going after an entire dugout, bat in hand.
Clinton LumberKings 10 @ Kane County Cougars 4
Taylor Scott couldn’t get past 2 innings of work after his stellar performance in his debut. He threw 2 innings, allowed 3 hits, walked 5 and struckout nobody. He gave up 4 runs. Nathan Dorris pitched 4 innings, allowed a hit and struckout 5.
Steve Perakslis put the game out of reach in his 2 innings of work. He allowed 5 hits and 5 runs on 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Bijan Radenmacher walked 3 and struckout nobody in an inning of work.
Rock Shoulders was 2-5 with a strikeout. Nobody else had more than 1 hit. Gioskar Amaya was 0-4. Dan Vogelbach was 1-3 with a walk. Jeimer Candelario was 0-2 with 3 walks and the struggling Marco Hernandez was 0-5.
Comments
Yes, felony assault definitely looks bad on a player’s record.
joshQuote Reply
At least it wasn’t like this.
Still don’t think milb is going to look too fondly at the incident.
dmick89Quote Reply
Apparently he did swing the bat near the dugout. Not at anyone, but he’s fucked. Very long suspension coming up if that’s true. If true, wouldn’t be surprised if he’s suspended the rest of the season.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ josh:
Here’s an example of that by a cubs minor leaguer http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/sports/baseball/26dayton.html?_r=1&
dmick89Quote Reply
Good start to the season for our top 3 prospects. Broken hand, suspension, and sucking out of the gate.
#Committed
JonKneeVQuote Reply
I vaguely remember that. Involving a bat is a really bad idea. Not just from a “you might get suspended” angle but also from a “you might really hurt someone” angle.
joshQuote Reply
Fucking commies.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
I have no stakes in OV besides my own entertainment, but why don’t you guys make new, full posts about some of the bigger events? Ex. – the goat’s head, Soler’s rage, Almora’s broken hand, signings, Baez’s 4 homers in 2 games, etc.
I mean, sometimes you do it. I’m just asking because I think it would result in more hits for the site and create more discussion which is good for OV’s greedy pockets (jk).
JonKneeVQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
You’re making a giant assumption and leap that this is a Cubs news blog. This is a discredited Cubs snark session, I believe.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ josh:
It’s just bad in a lot of ways. I’ve always been a guy who doesn’t care much for this stuff and primarily cares about how a player performs. That’s still largely true here, but this involved a bat. This is more serious than trashing Gatorado containers or hitting a teammate. The fact he’d even go grab a bat before going to the dugout is scary. I read somewhere from someone who thought he’d only be suspended 10-15 games. While I hope that’s the case, I’d be very surprised if it’s anything under 30. And it probably shouldn’t be.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
You’re right. My apologies everyone. I won’t eat dinner tonight.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
Speaking strictly from my own perspective: laziness.
I think overall though I like that this site tries to focus an analysis and crunching numbers. That was what attracted me here.
/$0.02
joshQuote Reply
@ JonKneeV:
Some of that stuff I used to create threads for on ACB and even here early on. Recurring back/neck problems and being busier has kind of limited what I can do. I figure if there is only so much I can do, it’s going to be focusing on the things I most enjoy.
4 home runs in 2 games, while impressive, is a sample size issue and not something that I want to spend much time writing about. I did mean to write something about Almora’s injury, but by the time I finally got around to it, it was a day or two later and so not worth the time.
Had I seen the Soler stuff last night, I would have written a short thread (probably just a link with a few comments), but I didn’t see that until this morning and I was halfway through this thread.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
So you’re saying that you’re listed as a day to day on the OV injury report?
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@JonKneeV: If you’re offering to write about some of these stories, I’m sure we could work something out.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I agree. I think it warrants a punishment. As a fan, I would have been terrified by something like that.
joshQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Pretty much. About 6 weeks ago I was on the 15-day DL.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of possible excuses from the fans before the day’s out. We’ll hear about Soler may have been called a racist name or that it was a dirty play at 2nd base. Even if true, it’s no justification to go grab a bat and charge the opposing dugout, stand in front of it, yelling god knows what. it’s scary. That’s Milton Bradley and Carlos Zambrano combined into one, roided up and coked out of their minds nutty.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
Are you going to make a couple rehab posts at BCB?
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Agree 100%. I’ve noticed that I’ve matured over the last few years. I absolutely hate any baseball fights (and especially when weapons are involved, and that’s exactly what this appears to be). Fighting and brawls have no place in the sport. Honestly, in the last year or two, I have really started to hate fights in the NHL too. The NHL pushes fighting as a reason to watch, but that’s bullshit and shouldn’t happen.
/if anyone gives a shit
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
Not only suspension by the league, but as josh alluded to using a weapon is assault, so there could be legal issues. I guess it is only intent to assault if that’s a real thing (insert GBTS signal). I thought I read somewhere that he swung at the actual dugout and not at players. Not sure if that makes it better, but maybe he was trying to provide some quality minor league entertainment.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
I’m with you on that.
joshQuote Reply
Anything ever involving a goat with baseball is just moronic. Moranic? Whatever. Sending a severed goat head sounds like something a psycho killer would do. In fact I’m pretty sure that’s the plot to Seven. (Spoiler? I mean, who hasn’t already seen that movie? It’s not bad.)
The curse of the goat is one of the most annoying things about being a Cubs fan. Curses are bullshit, curses about goats are especially bullshit. It’s a ballpark, and no fucking shit, they don’t allow goats to sit in the park, even if you buy the goat a ticket. The stupid curse doesn’t even make sense. Which means I just wasted a sentance stating that something that is bullshit to begin with doesn’t make sense. God I hate this “curse”!
It was lame when that group tried to raise money by marching a goat to Wrigley, it’s lame to wear any type of T-shirt that mentions goats or doing certain acts to goats, and it’s just down right disgusting to send a goat head.
EdwinQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Assault is threatening violence. Battery is actually doing it. In most states.
joshQuote Reply
Per commenter @ BN, someone was listening to the game and this is what the announcers said:
/plagiarism
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Based on what I’ve read I don’t think there will be any legal issues for Soler.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ WaLi:
If he swung the bat, how could it only be a week suspension?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I doubt there will be. If he had actually hit someone, then maybe. Though in that Reds brawl a year or two ago, Johnny Cueto attacked someone with his steel cleats and didn’t get charged, so what do I know? Much like the Catholic Church, the Justice system is apparently okay with MLB taking care of it on their own.
joshQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
I guess because he didn’t swing it at someone? It’s weird that he swung it at the dugout. And the announcers make it sound like he walked over there, not ran over there. I need to see a video.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi wrote:
Suburban kidQuote Reply
josh wrote:
yeah “intent to assault” is redundant. assault implies intent while battery implies going through with it. but i’m not a lawyer (although i will sell you this half-full orange julius)
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Sorry about the site problems. It might be fixed. (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
@ WaLi:
If the description is accurate, he didn’t swing it at anybody, but did swing at something (wall, dugout, who knows). I don’t see how this isn’t handled with a lengthy suspension. The man grabbed a bat and went at another dugout.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
You never know.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
From what Brett is seeing, there’s another report that he never actually swung at anything, his teammates got him before he reached the other dugout.
BerseliusQuote Reply
I just took a baseball bat to my computer because it wasn’t loading the page.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Berselius:
That’s good. That would probably limit the suspension, but there were reports from those in attendance who said he was in front of the dugout and yelling for awhile. Who knows? Maybe it didn’t even happen.
dmick89Quote Reply
OV is back, yay!
Rice on busQuote Reply
How much did Clemens get suspended for throwing the broken bat at Piazza? He didn’t even get ejected did he?
MuckerQuote Reply
The site never stopped working for me. That probably means I’m Neo.
joshQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Per the Interwebs, no ejection, no suspension, just a fine:
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100250&page=1#.UWbULbWyC8A
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
That was a World Series game. A player would have to do a lot to get suspended during the postseason. MLB just isn’t going to go down that road and have fans of that team complain endlessly about being mistreated by MLB.
The only comparisons I can think of off the top of my head in the minor leagues are Jose Offerman, Julio Castillo and Delmon Young. Offerman charged the mound with his bat in hand and swung and hurt someone. He never played again. This, based on all accounts, isn’t all that similar to it. Castillo threw a baseball into the stands and hit a fan. He hasn’t played since though I don’t know if he was forever suspended.
This might be closest to the Delmon Young situation. He tossed the bat at the umpire, and hit him, after a brief argument on a called strike. He threw the bat at the umpire, but not by throwing it overhand or anything. He tossed it behind him and it hit him. He was suspended 50 games.
dmick89Quote Reply
Since Soler has not tested positive for drugs, he’ll probably get off easy. But by fucking god if he tests positive for drugs, that would be OUTRAGEOUS!
dmick89Quote Reply
I’ve thought about writing about more general Cubs news (and I did when I first started here). I ran into three perceived problems:
1. Brett provides more-or-lees peerless coverage on the day-to-day operations of the team. That’s a combination of a few things; he has the whole day to devote to the site (it’s his full-time job; I do this for free in my spare time), and he’s a phenomenal writer (which I certainly am not). I don’t plan on “competing” with Brett for pageviews or putting out an inferior product. That being said, if I have a unique viewpoint or I can add something, I’ll certainly still post.
2. I’d like to think that I have some talent on the stats side of baseball; if I’m going to devote time to the site, I’d like it to play to my strengths. I’m glad I’m doing the Minor League work precisely because it’s helping me shore up the stuff I’m least comfortable with.
3. I’m the “new guy” at OV. I’d think it presumptious to cover that sort of stuff on a routine basis because it would seem, to me, like I’m trying to take this blog over (which I’m not about at all).
MylesQuote Reply
@ Myles:
Good points. It seems like when we do cover news here, someone does it in a funny way, instead of just posting something just to post, and I kind of like that.
joshQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
I agree with this…He could have hit every player in that dugout with his bat, and still would have lost less games than if he would have been caught with a joint.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
Myles wrote:
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d say post as much of that as you want. JKV has a good point, but it’s just not something I can or really want to do myself at this point. I’ve done so in the past, but I was also much more up to date on what’s happening than I am now. Almost everything I read about this team is relatively old news.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I would say contact with the umpire is punished much more harshly than even a full out fist fight with a player. MLB is very protective of umpire safety and authority.
joshQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
I wish I could get caught with a joint.
joshQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
MLB Fact: Steroids cause the body more harm than a bat to the face.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ josh:
I think we cover the news that is important to us individually. I’d have a very hard time writing about a very good performance over a couple of days. I understand doing so would attract more readers and discussion, but my understanding of performance over small samples makes it difficult for me to say much about such a performance other than “impressive.”
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I hear you about the WS game but that was clearly intent on Clemens. By all accounts, Soler didn’t swing the bat at anybody. Plus, Clemens was already a gigantic asshole at that point of his career so he should have had a short leash in a situation like that. I’m sure Soler got caught up in the moment and was furious and just reacted. Stupid for sure, but 50 game suspension would be seriously harsh.
I posted this on Windy City Gridiron on accident. (dying laughing)
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Myles:
yeah, more or less. I’m fine with posting stuff if I think it’s newsworthy or timely (and I have time to write it). A lot of that stuff would show up in a Daily Facepalm, but we only throw those together if we have time. FWIW, I don’t think this stupid goat head story is newsworthy. Would rather not feed the trolls.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Don’t mention “leashes” around these assholes…
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
josh wrote:
I think to some extent they should be. Umpires are supposed to be impartial and most player/manager arguments with umpires shouldn’t even be tolerated. During a competition between opposing sides confrontation is inevitable. Even what happened last night is, but it should definitely be punished for what it was: a violent outburst.
Before that happens though, MLB and its fans need to get their shit together and realize that violence is worse than doping.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
Agree with all that.
joshQuote Reply
As long as we’re bringing up Jose Offerman…
Erick Aybar also charged the mound with a bat in the Dominican Winter League. He was not suspended. The LA Times noted he played against the same team 3 days later.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/04/sports/sp-aybar4
I guess the severity is in the eye of the beholder. In Offerman’s case of course, he sent 2 guys to the hospital.
Chet MastersonQuote Reply
joshQuote Reply
@ Chet Masterson:
That’s a good point.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ josh:
My friend offered me free tix to todays game but I couldn’t go due to a teaching commitment. Damn you, American youth.
/kidding
Rice on busQuote Reply
@ Rice on bus:
Free? That’s twice what they’re going for at the box office.
joshQuote Reply
@ Rice on bus:
Accepting free tickets from your friend is an insult to the Cubs’ best customers.
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I’m going to tonight’s I-Cubs game. Can’t wait to watch the Journeymen of Today
BerseliusQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
Unironically jealous. I wish the I-Cubs were in the IL so I could go when they go to Indianapolis.
MylesQuote Reply
@ Myles:
It’s one of the few days here where I can watch a baseball game that isn’t in 90 degree weather.
BerseliusQuote Reply
AkabariQuote Reply
In unrelated news, I just moved to Michigan, and driving here is AWFUL.
My city is full of these. Anytime you want to take a left turn you have to go a few blocks up, creep up, make a sharp ass U turn into traffic.
Whoever designed them is an asshole.
AkabariQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
Agree on that one. I haven’t even read an article about it. That’s how much it interests me. The most I’ve talked about it is a message in response to my dad that had a link about it.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Akabari:
Everybody in Kansas drives in the left lane. All the fucking time. I’ve got to start taking a bat with me so I can respond.
dmick89Quote Reply
miguel cabrera has tripled and stolen third base so far today. your move, trout.
GWQuote Reply
Preview/game thread up
http://obstructedview.net/games/series-preview-giants-6-3-at-cubs-3-5.html
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
They have something similar in a nearby town. You can’t make left turns, you make u-turns which all have stop lights at them and you can’t turn on red. I hate driving through there.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
What city is it? Are those all over Michigan? That’s horrible.
joshQuote Reply
/plagiarized the shit out of that
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply